MORE RAIN?: Denny Ordiway asks a telling question: “Did it rain
on St. Swithin’s Day, July 15? If so, it’s supposed to rain for the
next 40 days.”

Denny adds, “Does McKean County still have the dubious honor of
being the driest county in the commonwealth?” We will try to find
out but, honesty, given all the recent rain, it does seem like an
impossibility!

BEE-WARE: Denny also comments on an RTS about those nasty “mud
wasps”: “We call them mud wasps because they use mud to make their
nests. I started working for Pennzoil Co. at Lafferty Hollow May 1,
1973, and mud wasps would build a nest under the eaves on the two
powerhouses I ran. In the summer when it was mowing season, we used
a scythe with an aluminum handle and a thin blade made in Austria.
You might accidentally find a nest of white-faced hornets in the
ground, where they built their nest. During the eight years I
pumped Lafferty Hollow, I got stung twice – both times by a mud
wasp.”

We also heard from Barney Snyder out in Arizona: “Let’s hope the
killer bee species never gets to Bradford. They were introduced
into Brazil many years ago and have worked their way to Arizona and
beyond. When disturbed, the entire hive attacks. They have been
responsible for human deaths and several animal deaths. They do
keep the exterminators on their toes here in Tucson.”

GOOD BEES: In Britain, the populace is being asked by the
government to help bring back the honeybee by urging “backyard
beekeepers,” even inside the city of London and other urban areas,
to help with the problem by purchasing and using a so-called
“Beehaus.”

The makers of the Beehaus – a brightly colored plastic box,
roughly the size of a backyard barbecue – say it has twice the room
of a traditional hive, is designed to reduce swarming and can yield
up to 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of honey in a year. It sells for 495
pounds (,840) – bees not included.

The same company made a compact chicken coop which has
reintroduced Londoners to the fine art of raising chickens in their
backyards.